Today, we see three styles of politics in Islamic societies. All ideological, political and social movements stand out with three styles of Islam: Traditionalism, revolutionism and revivalism. These are the mainstream movements that mobilize societies. These movements are transforming many areas from kalam to history, from fiqh to tasawwuf. They lead to major discussions. They establish relations with the modern world in accordance with this. They challenge sovereign ideologies and politics based on these.
Traditionalists are turning into various social and ideological movements based on tasawwuf, fiqh and philosophy. For example, this is the ideology represented by Sayyid H. Nasr on the basis of philosophy. Yet, in the traditional line, some movements emerge in the field of tasawwuf. The Tablighi Jamaat that emerged in the Indian continent is continuing a traditionalist life. Traditionalists believe they can protect Islam by keeping it away from modern history and relations. They believe they can solve problems by relaying Islam's past historical institutes, discourses, fiqh interpretations and kalam understandings exactly as is to today. Therefore, they read all new circumstances through the “old.” Beyond explanation, the past and present are compared and eventually the exclusiveness of the past is emphasized. The traditional reading of Islam is largely closed to the modern age, history and developments. Islam is entirely associated with institutes, arts, actors and sciences from the historical being of the past. The traditionalist movement reacts against modern challenges and developments by keeping to itself and seeking refuge in history.
Revolutionist, although they have various traces in history, largely emerged in the modernization period of Islamic societies. The Islamization movement, especially in the Cold War era, makes way for revolutionist ideology and movements. The historical period of their emergence coincides with an era in which approaches that the problems of the community can be solved through revolutions is prevalent in the world. Sayyid Qurb and Mawdudi are the ideological leaders of the revolutionists. Even though they made no direct attempt at revolution, through their ideas, they interpret Islam in a revolutionist, reformist and radical style. They suggest mobilizing Islamic societies around certain elites to topple the political rule and make Islam prevail. Today, revolutionism is evolving into “jihadism.” We can clearly see this when we look at the biographies of the many leaders and theorists heading al-Qaida and Daesh. The post-Arab Spring conditions facilitated and accelerated such an evolvement. The Islamic revolution theory even became nationalized in certain countries like Sudan and Iran. The goal of revolutionists is to revolutionize (or resort to revolution) through a certain cadre and establish the “Islamic State.”
Revivalists are movements that bring up Islam again in the modern period within the context of reform and renewal. We see this in the 19th century origin of the Islamization movement. People like Mehmet Akif Ersoy, Muhammad Iqbal, Ahmed Hilmi of Filibe and Muhammad Abduh are the intellectuals of modern day revivalism. In Turkey, the “Risale-i Nur” (Letters of Light) represents the revivalism of Naqshbandism, while in Indonesia the revivalists are represented by the Nahdatul Ulama. In Turkey, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), along with the National Vision Movement (MGH) and Islamists, are generally close to the revivalist line. They gave prominence to the effort to solve problems by bringing up Islam in society and politics in stages. They did not establish an exclusivist or integrationist (total) relationship with modernity. Instead, they interpreted modernism based on fundamental Islamic parameters – they kept away from certain aspects, while making peace with certain other aspects. They developed three approaches through modernity and the West: Criticism, refutation and reconciliation. The revival theory is after a reformist politics. It is a path that acts in harmony with our realist, sociological and historical existence. It approaches the matter of change by keeping away from conflict and revolution. It establishes a “middle path” type of relationship with modernism. This is the middle path modernism.
The Muslim world is now in a great loose end with the dictators of the Cold War and the revolutionist methods developed against them. Neither Baathism, nor Kemalism nor Nasrism are solutions. The revolutionists who are leaning toward these are also at the horns of a great dilemma. In other words, the Cold War-era “revolutionist Islamism” that organized against these movements resorted to suicide by evolving into “jihadism.” Suicide is not a project to live, but to die and to kill. The solution is, again, in revival. The revival method provides change through renewal. It advocates change and renewal in stages. It establishes a more constructional relationship with the world. Just as it refrains from extreme interpretations of the religion, it does not confine it into the historical field either. This is the path to reaching peace among so many groups, religious orders and jihad movements. The Muslim world can escape revolts and dictators only through a new style of politics. Such a political style is possible through a spirit that breeds on its historical body of knowledge, that is capable of understanding its era and that acts on a spirit of renewal.
